Since telephone deregulation, the industry has expanded to a point where today, there is a myriad of telephone set designs which include single set units, multi-line units, also known as key systems, telephone accessories, and to a lessor degree there are also differences in telephone operating systems. Telephone accessories include cordless radio-linked telephone sets, FAX machines, telephone message recorders, computer modems and other telephone accessories that control various household items by means of a TOUCHTONE.RTM. telephone or an enhanced rotary dial or pulse system. TOUCHTONE is a registered trademark of American Telegraph and Telephone Inc. of New York, United States of America.
One of the prevalent problems encountered in many currently available telephone sets and systems is the difficulty in physically and automatically connecting the telephone accessory into the telephone set. This connection is especially difficult when connection is being made to a multi-line telephone set or other combination multi-use telephone systems.
The difficulty in connecting accessories to the telephone set is further complicated by the fact that their is no longer a "standard telephone". The lack of standardization extends to the wiring configuration at the connector to the signal levels required to operate the system. Additionally, timing problems and particularly timing problems in combination with the various dial tones can cause the incoming or connection calls to be aborted When international systems are considered, the connection problems is further compounded. The instant invention solves most, if not all of the above telephone set/system problems
A search of the prior art did not disclose any patents that read directly on the claims of the instant invention however, the following United States patents were considered related:
______________________________________ U.S. PAT. NO. INVENTOR ISSUED ______________________________________ 4,538,028 Gazzoli, et al 27 August 1985 4,291,197 Yonaga 22 Sept. 1981 ______________________________________
The Gazzoli et al patent discloses an apparatus that functions as an interface between a wireless telephone base unit (input) and a key telephone system (output) that, in turn, is connected to a telephone central office (TCO). The apparatus includes circuitry that establishes a plurality of telephone calling numbers for the outside lines to be used by a user of the wireless handset. As a consequence, when the key telephone system output circuits are connected to the TCO, a wireless link, via the apparatus is established with the wireless telephone Thus, a user of the wireless telephone can use the handset to perform all the functions now performed by a stationary key telephone system while retaining the freedom of motion provided by the wireless telephone.
The Yonaga patent discloses a cordless telephone system which includes a remote station having a transmitter and receiver and a base station having a base transmitter and receiver. The remote station includes a pulse code device that generates a pulse signal corresponding to at least one predetermined decimal number. The pulse signal is transmitted and received by the base station where, through a discriminator, the system determines if the pulse signal corresponds to a predetermined decimal number If their is correspondence, the signal is enabled. Circuit means are also provided to disable the signal at the conclusion of the transmission and to reset the system to await a subsequent transmission from the remote station.